Sheringham Point Lighthouse is a heritage site located in the hamlet of Shirley about 20 minutes west of Sooke on Sooke Rd/Hwy 14. This lighthouse was first illuminated in September of 1912 and a foghorn was added in 1925. The lighthouse was automated in the 1980’s and fully de-staffed in 1989. The building is now maintained and supervised by the volunteer run Sheringham Point Lighthouse Preservation Society.
To access the lighthouse you will turn left on Sheringham Point Rd which is where the firehall is located as well as Shirley Delicious Cafe. You will continue down this road until you see a trail head marker. Park to the side and then you can follow the trail.
The trail is a short walk through a forest, and you will see the lighthouse. To access the lighthouse you will cross a private road and pass through the gates. The gates are open from 9am to 8pm daily. It is free to access the lighthouse grounds.
Be aware that bears are in the area, so best to make noise when walking this trail. The bear in the picture below was sneaking up behind a volunteer who was doing some painting on the lighthouse. We managed to scare it off some to give distance with hollering and clapping. It is good to always be aware of your surroundings when in bear habitat. This bear hung out for a while at the top of the hill eating before it eventually wandered off. We gave the bear lots of space and decided we would enjoy the views from the viewing platform until the bear wandered off.
Once you walk down to the lighthouse, there is a viewing platform that you can walk out on and watch the wildlife and boats go by. You may even get lucky and see a pod of orcas swim by. While we didn’t see any orcas the day we were there we did see seals and otters playing in the water.
Once out at the lighthouse there is a short trail that is a loop that follows along the cliff edge for a short while that you can enjoy and get some different views of the lighthouse.
Do you like to visit lighthouses? Do you have a favourite lighthouse?
Early morning trend continued on day 7 with our daughter waking up at 4:45am. Since it was nice and early and the weather forecast for the morning was good it seemed like the perfect day to hike up Cadillac Mountain. We headed out of the campground around 6:15 once we had woken up enough, brushed our teeth and made some peanut butter sandwiches for the hike. We hiked the Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail leaving from Blackwoods campground. The trail is fairly flat and moderate from the campground to the main trail head and involves crossing the main island road. There are some boards you need to walk across in the swampy areas as well.
Once you hit the main trail head the climb begins. The South Ridge Trail is the easiest of the trails leading up Cadillac Mountain but the trail could be challenging at times, especially with a little one on my back. It is recommended to hike up the mountain to be at the top for either sunrise or sunset. After hiking this trail in the light, I would definitely not want to hike this in the dark. They were working on the trail in a number of spots when we were hiking up to help preserve and protect the surrounding landscape. There are some fantastic views along the way. At the right time of year there are also a great deal of blueberries lining the trail so you could have a nice snack. Our daughter napped in the carrier for a large portion of the upwards climb.
Once we reached the summit we enjoyed a bit of a snack and a break before hiking back down. Many people will hike one way and take the Island shuttle back down. Nearing the final stretch is where you can meet the biggest challenge. It is rocky and a bit of climbing is involved. You reach this portion after hiking down a bit where there is a pond. The views are definitely something else once you are up at the summit.
As we started the decent back down Tessa had a run in with a porcupine. She would not let us remove the quills while on the trail so she had to hike back to the campground with them in her mouth and nose. We were back at the campground by 11:00 am, so Dave headed into Bar Harbor to take Tessa to the vets while our daughter and I made and had some lunch and relaxed a little. The vet told Dave that they have dogs in there at least a couple times a week who have had a run in with the porcupine on Cadillac Mountain.
After lunch we headed out of the park to grab a shower and get cleaned up. There is a private operation offering paid showers just outside of the campground located on the main road. It is $2 for 4 minutes since there are no showers within the campground.
Once cleaned up we headed back into Bar Harbor to pick up a few items, check emails and then pick up Tessa from the vets. Since Tessa was in no state to walk (she had to be put under to have the quills removed), we took a drive down to Bass Harbor to see the lighthouse.
The drive was nice and it was a great way to spend part of the rainy afternoon. Once we reached the lighthouse the sun decided to come back out.
After a little drive around Bass Harbor we continued on to Southwest Harbor to grab some dinner before heading back to camp. We decided to order take-out from a little place on the main street. Once I had ordered dinner I headed next door to check out Hatched On MDI. This is a gorgeous children’s shop carrying clothing, toys, etc that are not your run of the mill. She carries lots of the brands that I like for our daughter which are more unique and the woman who owns the store was a great help in choosing some outfits to take home with us. Once my shopping was done dinner was ready and we were back on the road.
We decided we would take our dinner to a freshwater beach we had passed on the way down. Paige was enjoying watching a family play frisbee on the grass while we ate. Then we let our daughter wade in the water and play in the sand.
We had trouble getting her out of the water to head back to camp. Once back at camp it was time for our daughter to head to bed and then we got ourselves organized and partially packed for the trip the following day.
To see what else we got up to on this trip check out the links below:
